One Soul's Journey to Live, Love & Laugh

No, I’m not calling anyone stupid, but I am going to point out how incredibly complicated we tend to make the simplest things…

We have been blessed with minds that allow us to think with great depth. We have been blessed with hearts that allow us to feel great love. We have been blessed with souls that allow us to feel compassion and empathy and millions of other feelings to make us human.

But, instead of accepting what is we tend to think too much, obsess, pick at, and tear down things we perceive as being undeserved or impossible. We take the opportunity to succeed right out of our own hands by believing we can’t do or be something. Maybe it’s because we were all taught that fairy tales are just that . . . tales and magic doesn’t exist in the world.

I, or course, disagree but you have to be able to clear away the complicated mess we tend to make of everything to get down to the simplest thing and then learn to appreciate what it is no matter how simple.

Reach for the stars, we are told. That’s a lofty goal if ever there was one. How about just enjoying the night sky and having gratitude that your piece of the sky is filled only with stars and not bullets or bombs.

Get to the top and you will be a success, we are told. That’s great but in trying so hard to reach the top, sometimes at breakneck speed, you miss all the beauty of the mountain itself. What if you enjoyed the view and the cool mountain air as you climb? And what if you sit for a moment, or a day, or even a year and reflect on where you are and find joy in that place, rather than bemoan where you thought you should be? There’s no time line but your time line in reality.

My point here is to find a way to enjoy this moment, the Now, even amid chaos. Seek to find just one simple thing you can be grateful for. How about waking up this morning and having one more day in this world?

Today I could tell you was an absolute waste. I, yet again, accomplished nothing I wanted to. I could allow myself to be burdened by that, but I won’t because in the middle of not doing anything I deemed worthy of merit I heard my favorite bird song. I truly felt Spring’s presence here and like the tiny things sprouting from the new earth I know I am yet again enjoying a rebirth of Self. The million things I had to do today will be there tomorrow. But today I existed in simply inhaling and exhaling the air and being fully conscious of it.

So stop over-thinking everything. Worry is a waste of time. Trust the Universe. Love one another. Keep it simple . . .

So . . ., the other day I was involved in a robbery. Well, wait, let me clear that up, I mean I was involved in trying to get what was taken back. An older woman was the victim of a purse snatching. Another woman came to me to tell me she saw a couple take a woman’s purse. It’s funny but it didn’t take me more than a few seconds to process the information. I asked where the couple went and I was told they had headed to a parking lot. I took off running and sure enough witnessed one person running while another person sat behind the wheel and yelled at the other one to hurry up.

Not having my phone (which would have been awesome in hindsight for a few reasons) or anything to write on, I stood across the aisle from the car trying to memorize the license plate, make and model of the car. I know they saw me and I realize now how silly that might have been in terms of my own safety but I was on adrenaline at that point. Stealing isn’t right in any circumstance but stealing from an ancient-looking older lady is more despicable.

I went back into the store I was at and found the woman whose purse was stolen. Apparently she was so engrossed in a book she didn’t notice her purse being stolen (?!) even though the couple were practically standing on her at one point and she did think that was odd. I told her the police were on their way and hopefully with the license plate number they could find the thieves. I tried to reassure her as best I could. Thankfully, she had her car and house keys on her as well as a cell phone.

I gave the information I had to the police as did the woman who first alerted me to the theft. Turns out I must have missed a letter or a digit because the police told me when they arrived that the plate turned up nothing. I was seriously disheartened. I want to believe in the good of people and while I know times are hard, making someone else’s life miserable to make yours better is not the way to go.

That night I thought long and hard about the incident and questioned the Universe as to why I had even been involved. What was the lesson here? To not believe people are inherently good? To discover people suck? I was confused and a bit angry.

The next morning with the whole purse snatching incident on my mind after a restless night, I asked the Universe to show me that my Faith in mankind was justified. I asked that somehow even though the police couldn’t find the car, maybe the people who committed the crime were scared when they saw me staring at their plate and threw the purse out the window somewhere nearby, or that somehow the police were able to catch the thieves.

I went back to the store surprised to learn the exact thing I hoped for had happened. The thieves did indeed toss the purse but it wasn’t the police who found it. Turns out the driver of a garbage truck spotted the purse on his early morning run. He picked it up, read the address on the drivers license and delivered it to the elderly woman. She called the store to let them know that everything was inside.

Whether it was due to guilt or something else I’m happy the thieves tossed the purse. I’m happy it was recovered by an honest person who then returned it to its owner. While I am disheartened by the act of the theft itself and wish for all the world those who did it will find a better way to earn a living, I know that losing my Faith in Humanity is not the answer.

You gotta have Faith in yourself and your fellow men and women. If you don’t what’s the point of living in this world? We are all One whether we choose to believe it or not. What happens to one of us happens to all of us and the sooner more people get this the happier we will all be.

I want to walk down the street and smile at the strangers who approach. I don’t want to frown or scowl. I don’t want to fill my head with suspicion or unwarranted judgement. I just want to embrace Life and do it by being Open.

We have grown into a World dominated by negative media and social streaming to the point that we don’t even say hello to the people who live next door because we are told to fear them. Why are we told this? Because they aren’t like us. That’s it. There’s no other justification in most cases for remaining isolated except we’ve been conditioned, no, brain-washed to believe everyone else poses a danger to us.

Well, I for one am done with that. I’m tired of living in fear. If all I ever do is keep to my Self how do I ever grow or become enriched? How is my Life truly Lived without the inclusion of others. The people we call Friends in our Lives were once strangers too.

Yes, bad things can happen in this World but I’d still rather leave here knowing I experienced all there was with an Open Mind and Heart which I Believe will make me richer by far than any accumulated coin or treasure. I will be So(ul) Wealthy and so will you.

And this has proven to be true for me. I’ve spent such a long time wandering in the weeds, making detours, backtracking and even winding up on the shoulder of the road of Life but I have never once felt truly Lost. Somehow, I always knew whatever awaited me ‘beyond that far horizon’ would be mine . . . I just need to keep going to wherever there might be.

I wasn’t always introspective. I didn’t always listen to my gut. I didn’t always believe in myself. And I certainly didn’t appreciate being in the Moment.

I guess I was Lost for a bit, but I didn’t panic and eventually I Found myself again.

Being Lost sometimes means drifting away from what you used to do while you discover what you might Be. It means shedding all the skins you inherited and adopted along the way until like that caterpillar in the cocoon you shed the safety of what you know for a chance to soar into whatever may be trusting all the while in both yourself and the Universe.

Others don’t always get this part of you. Loads of people think if you have no immediate purpose and if you are not defined by society to fit in some sort of category and wear some sort of label then you are a freak or a threat and there’s something wrong with you. To that I simply shrug my shoulders for mine is not to worry about the thoughts of others, mine is only to worry about the thoughts I have for both myself and others at all times and to keep them Positive and filled with Light and Love.

So, even today I feel as though my soul drifts from here to there. My Path is not a straight one and for that I am eternally grateful because in the bends and the peaks and valleys are the delights I cannot see yet. There are Lessons in those. My pace isn’t always steady and yes, at times, I do falter under the weight of my own doubts, yet in the end I persevere and continue.

If this is being Lost I am beyond okay with that.

I say lose yourself. Cast off all the things that define you and wander directionless and purposeless to see where the warm winds might guide you. You may be surprised beyond your wildest dreams to see what you become when you leave everything else behind and allow yourself to be Open.

I wasn’t always this way. Once I used to be so tough I swear I was invincible. It was a protection mechanism for me. If I was clad in armor nothing and no one could hurt me. This came from being hurt too many times at too young of an age. I understand that now.

But living in a suit of armor and keeping everyone at arm’s length doesn’t really allow for much. It’s sort of like being stuck inside a house on a warm summer day peering out at the world that’s moving around you. You are an observer but not a participant.

Somewhere along the way and after a few failed relationships wherein I sought to control everything, I determined this whole invincible thing wasn’t working and so I ditched the steel suit and decided that come what may I would be open and not closed to the world around me.

So, now when someone close to me remarks on my toughness I know they mean that I do stand up for myself and for what I think is right. They mean I have integrity, my word is my bond. That I do not expect from others what I will not do myself, but that I have a heart I am no longer afraid to show the world.

Now, I may bleed a bit around the edges from my experiences of Life, but maybe that’s what makes me more human. I accept that in Life there are going to be tough times and times when I will have to remain true to my convictions, but I also know there will be times when I can let it all go and release my inner suit of armor.

This is what being a Tough Cookie is really about. You are strong in self but also gentle in nature. You have nothing to prove to anyone. You are okay with who you are. It’s all good.

It may take some time but in order to truly, truly Live each and every moment you need both the hard exterior and the soft interior…. be a sandwich cookie and it’ll be all good. Besides . . . who doesn’t love a sandwich cookie?

Today I determined I would only have positive thoughts for myself, others and the Universe. Sure, I have a multitude of worries and things I could focus on to drag me down, but you know what? Those things will probably still be there tomorrow so I thought why not just give myself and the World a break and do no harm.

Negative thoughts are harmful. It is the negative energy they produce. You know how they say it’s easier to smile than frown? Well it’s easier to think negative thoughts than positive ones. Your mind is always conjuring thoughts, ideas, fears and anything else it can do to disrupt your ability to stay positive. Unless you truly focus on what your mind is doing.

It’s a bit like training a puppy. I mean you think it should be easy enough to just keep only positive thoughts in your head but after the first person cuts you off on the road or doesn’t say thank you for your holding the door open for them, well, how quickly do we devolve into a bundle of negative energy. Couple outside influences with whatever may be weighing us down, addiction, abuse, financial issues, employment, family crisis, health problems, the list goes on and on, and it’s easy to see how you could stay negative.

Today was my test. Could I, regardless of all that might be thrown at me, stay only in the positive? It wasn’t easy. By no means. I caught myself again and again trying to revert back to that familiar cranky person that only sees a gray sky and not the rainbow and I had to remain vigilant and refocus every single time. It could have been exhausting if not for the underlying good heart I put into the effort. And really don’t the really good things happen in Life after some sort of struggle?

It’s now the end of the day and though I was tested I did manage to keep all my thoughts positive. Even tiny ones. I wished only Peace and Love for the Universe and all those beings I share it with. I made sure I did everything that was asked of me with a smile and a true smile at that. I realized that while I may not have the power to change the world, I do have the power to change how I view my experience day to day, therefore changing my Life itself.

It was a good day. I even feel as though I have more energy even at the end. I am at Peace. And that is what I Hope each of you has tonight and every night.